Slow Spoke Advise

[ScottM]

I am not in any shape yet to do one of your regular slow spoke rides but looking at routes I am thinking about the Ritter Park loop. Is that for a true out of shape beginner?

[RickF]

Originally Posted by ScottM

I am not in any shape yet to do one of your regular slow spoke rides but looking at routes I am thinking about the Ritter Park loop. Is that for a true out of shape beginner?

That is an excellent route for a beginner. Most of it is on striped bike lanes. The small part that is not is on a signed bike route with wide outside lanes. Traffic is not a problem on that route. There is nothing in the Triangle that is flat, but that route is about as flat as one can find in Wake County.

One of the nice things about that route is that it is only about 7 miles, and you are never more than 3.5 miles from the start/finish. As you progress, you can repete it over and over to go 14, 21, 28 . . . miles.

Keep in mind that if you are riding solo, you will be about 2 to 3 mph slower than if you were riding in a group. In a group, the first rider works the hardest. The ones behind only have to work about 60% as hard as the one in front because of the drafting.

[ScottM]

Rick, thanks for the input. Been a long time since I really rode and I would hate to ruin one of your regular rides by turning back after a couple miles.

I knew about the drafting concept but did not know it made that big of a difference. Right now I think I need some of the extra effort to get into shape.

[RickF]

To get an idea of the effect of group riding versus solo riding, check out the lap information for this ride. Click on "Dashboard", then click on "Laps". This was my ride from last Saturday. I rode solo from my house to the start of the ride; a distance of 3.2 miles, at an average speed of 12.9 mph (lap 1). Then, I met up with a group of about 10 and rode with them for 19.7 miles at an average speed of 17.0 mph (lap 2). Then, I split off the group and rode solo back to my house for a distance of 11.7 miles at an average speed of 14.4 mph (lap 3).

If you use the average heart rate as an indicator of how much I was pushing myself, you will see that I was not working any harder going 17.0 mph in the group (average heart rate 126 bpm) as I was riding solo at 14.4 mph (average heart rate 130 bpm).

Never underestimate the power of the group.

It does not matter how fast you can ride to participate in the Thursday rides, as long as you are up to riding for two and one-half hours. One of the disadvantages of starting this time of year is that the days are long. The Thursday rides are designed to go from 6:00 PM until sunset. When we start in March, the days are short, so we only ride for about 1 hr 20 min. Each week, we ride about 5 minutes longer until the end of June. Then we have about four weeks where the day length plateaus, then they start getting shorter again until we quit in September. That is why it is important to start earlier in the year. Still, I am not concerned how slow you might be, as long as you are up to spending 2 1/2 hours in the saddle (actually, 2 hr 28 min for this week, increasing to 2 hr 35 min on June 25 and July 2).

[ScottM]

Thanks Rick.... I will have to start early next year. Right now the only way I can go 2 plus hours is all down hill.

[ashby3]

Welcome to Slow Spokes Scott - you will not find better information anywhere than you can get from Rick - I look forward to when you are ready to join us. We usually end up riding in two or three different groups depending on the speed of the riders and the number of riders who show up. We all started out having to make shorter rides than we wanted to at first - hang in there.
Remember it is being able and willing to ride for 2.5 or so hours that is important not how fast you ride - looking forward to see you.

Turtle.

[cruzinator]

I can vouch for that general route as that is where I started riding about 4 years ago. There is a nice short grade at the Swim/Tennis center on Lochmere Dr. that you can use to get a good idea of your initial fitness as you progress. I know when I started just that little bit was tough for me, but I also was carrying a good bit more weight and was on a heavier bike. Once that route is too easy, you can cut through the Ritter Park (Swift Creek) greenway to Regency Parkway, turn left and go up the hill past the Regency lake (actually on Ederlee). That hill is about 80 feet of vertical climb, but with a "reasonable" grade. Once you can do that satisfactorily (plus enough miles per ride) you can ride confidently anywhere in the triangle.

[ScottM]

Well I did it!!!! I rode a modified version of the Ritter Park loop last Wednesday. I started from the Kids Together play ground. The ride was 13 miles. I had to stop more often then I would have liked but I did average over 10 mph. I bet it was 40 years since I rode that long. Thanks for the advise.

Scott

[RickF]

Congratulations. The most difficult thing is to make that first venture out. Now that you have done it once, it will not be as hard to get up the nerve to do it again (and again and again . . .).

[Michelle W]

Hey Scott. Congrats on your ride! Loved your comment about being able to ride 2 hours if it was downhill! LOL.